


vacancies

by zimskivojnik



Series: Bucky & Tones [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bucky Barnes Feels, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Protective Bucky Barnes, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-17 07:52:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14828361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zimskivojnik/pseuds/zimskivojnik
Summary: There's not much Bucky remembers from before his life turned to hell, his preferences included. The void in his mind was luckily tailored for a certain doe-eyed brunette, who set off all of his caring instincts. That, he remembered having.





	vacancies

**Author's Note:**

> another bucky/tony fic! i love these two, i hope you'll enjoy this one as much as i enjoyed writing it!
> 
> \- mer

When he first arrived at the tower, he expertly hid his anxiousness standing before the Avengers, not that Steve would notice what Bucky was feeling over how thrilled he was that they'll finally work on the same team again.

"Just relax, Buck. You can be yourself 'round here," Steve said to him as he showed him to his new room.

The comment was unnecessarily and unintentionally cruel, because now that he'd been liberated from the persona he was granted with torture and brainwashing, there wasn't much of _himself_ left to go back to. 

~

Freedom was all he could think about at first, before they finally broke him. How ecstatic he would be to get it someday, how painfully he wanted it. He never realised it would be excruciatingly boring. 

Bucky was an observant person, mostly due to excercise that allowed him to differentiate emotions from acts within the first glance of someone's face, no matter how trained they might be to hide them. He was extremely perceptive by nature, unknowingly noting every little detail of his surroundings, of people he lived with and habits they had. The fact that he was mostly quiet and bored out of his damned mind warranted for him to learn all he needed to know about his team mates even though he hardly spoke to them at all, let alone about their quirks and masked insecurities. 

Natasha had serious trust issues, storing her food separately, eating it carefully and discarding the best parts, as her instincts probably told her it was poisoned. She didn't like being touched, with the exception of Clint, and Tony, who was a whole another story. 

Bruce was anxious, always drawing back from any kind of possible overstimulation, always so afraid of himself that he barely noticed what was going on around him. He was nice, and understanding about Bucky keeping his distance, at least that much he could make out from his conversation with Steve. 

Clint was selfless to the point of self-destructiveness, but with Natasha by his side and a team of enhanced humans around him it was nothing to worry about too much. Bucky liked him best, as he was the one to always make him feel included despite never saying anything longer that one-word answers. 

Steve was happy most of the time, a shadow of worry only crossing his face when he looked at Bucky. It was a bit annoying, how overprotective he was, but he wasn't to blame. He wasn't the one to go rogue and kill innocent people, much like Howard and Maria Stark. 

Which brought him to the most peculiar person he's ever met, Tony Stark. 

It's not like Bucky didn't feel the guilt over his actions as the Asset, but it was dulled with everything he's done since to prove that it wasn't his doing, not his fault. This exact fact made him question more than once why he was so motivated to remember every single detail he could about Tony. Every preference, trigger, annoyance, quirk. 

That being said, he sure didn't know why he had the need to somehow show Tony that he was noticed. It was none of his business, the way Tony averted his gaze and pretended to be unbothered when someone would talk over him. The way Tony never protested when Thor would enthusiastically talk them into ordering thai for dinner, despite subtly throwing his food away once it came - he was allergic to peanuts, Bucky noted, but still rather went hungry than complained about it, which was equal parts worrying and absolutely ridiculous. He noticed Tony was almost always cold, his arms grazed with goosebumps, teeth chattering subtly despite it being hot outside, and no matter how high the temperatures were, he never walked outside without a jacket of sorts, and somehow always instinctively gravitated towards the large windows of the tower to bask in warm sunrays. He barely got any rest, that was obvious even to the others, but they seemed to forget this fact moments later when mentioning new upgrades he could work on for their uniforms and weapons, as if they couldn't add two and two together and realise he was already losing too much sleep over them. He liked scalding black coffee, most likely the immediate consequence of the previous notice, and long, meaningful hugs. 

Tony might've been one of the most famous people on Earth, and it was almost poetically tragic in a way that a person faced with camera lenses and the scrutiny of the public eye, went unnoticed. 

Bucky, noting all of it, suddenly felt obliged to fix it all. The fact that Tony was gorgeous with an extraordinary mind had nothing to do with it, though. 

~

It was subtle, the first time he'd made his way to Tony's proximity, taking up an empty chair to his right as they went through the details of their latest mission plans in the debriefing room. Tony patiently waited for everyone to speak their mind, and just as he'd started talking, Steve spoke up again, grabbing everyone's attention with his booming voice, and Bucky swore he could feel Tony physically shrink beside him, his thoughts kept to himself yet again. 

He'd heard stories of the obnoxious, cocky and all-over-the-place Stark, not the one who shut up whenever someone else was speaking, as if his words held no meaning or reasoning behind them. He'd also read Tony's file, and he knew well what happened with Ultron - it wasn't hard for Bucky to connect the dots from there. 

"And what did you plan on doing with the remote-guided missiles? Aren't the tracking ones better?" he asked quietly, seeing how Tony's face went from surprise to reluctance, and it took a few seconds for him to realise that Bucky was really interested in what he had to say - he honestly was, and if it meant listening to this genius babble away about the future of advanced warfare tech and seeing the glint in his auburn eyes as he spoke with passion about his theories, he counted is as a bonus. 

"Care to let us in on the discussion?" Steve asked after a minute, eyebrows high on his forehead as everyone averted their eyes towards Tony and him. 

"Shoulda listened when you had the chance, so no, we'll pass," Bucky replied sweetly, before nodding to a stunned Tony, flashing his signature grin which he returned with a small, reluctant smile. 

_Cute._

~

It _was_ unreasonable, and Bucky has had enough of trying to explain to Thor what a peanut allergy was, so when thai night came around, Bucky announced that he was seriously craving gnocchi, knowing fully well that Tony would never pass up an opportunity to get him the best indigenous italian food in the city. That's how their first dinner out went, laughing over objectively heavenly food in a small, homey restaurant whose owner - a sweet old italian lady - insisted on reffering to them as "my Antonio and his beefy _caro_ ". The important thing was that Tony was well-fed and looking quite relaxed, if his half-lidded eyes and a lazy, appreciative smile he flashed only to Bucky for the first time were anything to go by. 

~

Bucky was used to his body's high tolerance of temperature fluctuations, his limits for comfort being in the hundreds, both up and down the scale. That meant that he never wore layered outfits and never really had the need to, not before vowing to be Tony's unofficial subtle wrangler, that is. It was easy to just remember to put on a hoodie or a jacket over his standard outfit when leaving the house, only to take them off under the guise of the weather being too hot or whatever.

"You want me to _carry_ your jacket?" 

"Or wear, same thing honestly," Bucky replied, exiting the italian restaurant. 

And when he eventually did put it on, it took every self-control technique he'd ever learned to stop himself from drawing Tony in a bone-crushing hug. The man looked rather adorable with Bucky's jacked oversized on him and swallowing half of his small frame. He looked comfortable, all but the questioning gaze he sent Bucky's way, probably noticing his weird reaction to Tony's sheer adorableness. 

Bucky didn't stop there. 

The AC was always turned to a low setting in the living room - more like living hall, and in a room full of enhanced, trained or mutated people, Tony was the only one human enough to be cold. And much to Bucky's dismay, no one seemed to realise this, which meant that things would never change because Tony would seemingly rather die than complain about something regarding his discomfort. It really was ridiculous, and he reminded himself to ask Tony about it, but right now that wasn't really a priority, as Tony was curled into the far side of the couch, probably to preserve body heat. 

Bucky flat out burried his face into Tony's chest right next to the blue light peering through his shirt, forcing Tony's legs to lay flat at his sides. 

"Sure, make yourself at home," Tony mumbled, making him chuckle. 

" 'M tired, Antoshka. Can't really blame me, can you?" 

"No, I mean, there's perfect reasoning behind this, not like there's around 57 surfaces for you to sleep on in the tower."

"You sayin' you want me to leave?" 

"Uh, no. It's movie night in a few minutes anyways."

_Nice save._

Bucky wasn't lying about being tired, though, the fact that Tony was his pillow made it so much harder for him to stay awake. But then, his fingers were scraping his scalp gently, and his shirt smelled a little of almond flour he was making macarons with, and a scene flashed quickly through Bucky's mind - falling asleep in his mother's arms after a bad dream, her fingers tangled in his hair, her almond and rose perfume combined with fingernails scraping at his scalp calming him just enough to put him to sleep - a new memory, and he felt his chest fill with warmth and longing at his childhood. And if Tony noticed the few tears that escaped him, staining his shirt, he played it off, fingers still restless in his hair. 

~

"Is Tony still down there?" Clint asked over his pancakes, shaking his head when Steve nodded. 

"Down there?" 

"The workshop," Natasha clarified for him, "I should probably go get him."

"I'll do it," Bucky said, bringing his empty cup into the kitchen. He doused some pancakes in chocolate syrup and fixed up a mug of black coffee before entering the elevator, aware of the stares that followed him there. 

"Uh, FRIDAY, is Tony still in the workshop?" 

"Sir instructed me not to disturb him, that includes visitors, Sargeant."

"He's been missing for three days now, if I don't bring him food you won't have a Sir to command you anymore."

"You seem to have foiled my plan to take over, Sargeant."

The A.I. complied then, which was funny in a way, as if Tony felt necessary to include sarcasm in his computer's speech.

He exited on a whole new floor, the food he brought forgotten in his hands as he marveled at the tech that surrounded him. Machines whirring and buzzing, sounds of hydraulic limbs that moved them barely heard over loud music that was playing, and in the middle of it all stood Tony, orchestrating this chaos. He was sexy, without a doubt, his tanktop revealing admirable biceps and a collarbone Bucky longed to bite and graze with his teeth, his hair slicked back, sweaty and as black as his hands, covered in oil stains. He would love nothing more than pinning the genius against the nearest table and making him scream his name, but he came here for a reason that wasn't coming, unfortunately. 

"I brought food to you, cave troll," Bucky announced his presence, sitting on a nearby couch. Tony snapped out of his focused gaze, smiling widely when he saw who'd payed a visit. 

"Cut the music, Fri. And stop lying to yourself, Sarge, you'd cross the oceans for this troll," Tony teased, devouring the pancakes offered to him. 

"Doesn't make you any less disgusting, though. When was the last time you showered? Slept?" 

Tony sipped carefully at his coffee, surprise evident on his face as he took a few more sips, moaning a little. 

"How did you know exactly which coffee I liked best?" 

"Figured you'd need raw caffeine, being awake this long. Go shower, then I'm taking you to bed, no arguments."

The man looked as if he was about to protest, but a pointed glare was more than enough to change his plans. 

"Yours or mine, Sarge?" Tony asked over his shoulder, wiping off the grease from his fingers. 

"You don't have a say in that, either," Bucky said, thinking how maybe it wasn't a good idea to share the bed with the man he wanted to sleep with, but it was a long time since Bucky last slept well and this might just help him, too. Plus, he couldn't trust Tony not to come back here and work himself into oblivion. 

"What're you working on at this hour?" 

"Huh. I honestly don't know," the man replied, stumbling out of his shower towards Bucky. He barely even looked at Tony once he got down here, too distracted by holographic projections and sentient machines to take a closer look at the engineer's face. 

"Dear God, you look exhausted, come on," Bucky mumbled, dragging him to his room. He waited for Tony to put on his boxers and shirt as he stripped from his jeans, sliding under the covers of the huge bed. Tony didn't seem to retaliate on his offer, simply curling into Bucky's side, and he couldn't help but smile when Tony sighed softly. 

This was nice, he thought to himself. The void in his mind left by his time spent at HYDRA was slowly but surely filled with Tony, his habits and needs and Bucky didn't mind at all, the sudden lack of vacant space in his heart. He put a protective arm around Tony's small frame, pulling them closer when he felt the man's breathing slow down. 

"Good night, troll" he whispered, placing a kiss on top of Tony's head.

It became some sort of an unwritten rule, a pact they wordlessly made between the two of them, sharing a bed or a couch every other day. It helped Tony form a somewhat healthier sleeping schledule and it efficiently kept Bucky's demons at bay. This arrangement warranted for Bucky to have the best view in the tower, and it wasn't due to the room being on the highest floor, nor was it in any way related to looking any further from his chest, on top of which a certain engineer resided, looking blissful and content in his sleep.

~

The downside of these arrangements, Bucky realised soon enough, was apparent once Tony had to attend to his business. 

It was on Wednesday when Pepper reminded him of the board meeting in Japan which he had to attend, or else she would rip his spine out, and this time it was serious. 

Bucky only laughed at Tony's stuck-out bottom lip, swiftly getting himself out of bed to fix them up some coffee. He started sweetening Tony's a couple days ago, as the man didn't need that much caffeine anymore with his sleeping in check. 

"You're so gonna miss me," Bucky teased as he handed the last of Tony's luggage to his driver. 

"Yeah, I know," Tony smiled sadly, getting into the car. 

Turns out, Bucky missed him too, a lot. He was back to being bored, not like before - Steve and Sam made sure of it by making him pick up on his training now, but it was the little parts of his day that he missed, the ones he shared with Tony. He barely participated in movie nights now, sticking to his books he borrowed from their library. He finally got to try thai food, realising why Thor was always happy about ordering it. He went back to sleeping in his own bed, well, depends on what you define as sleep, as he couldn't really get that much without his favorite weight of choice sprawled on top of him. 

He missed Tony, but only realised how serious the case was when due to fatigue and lack of sleep, he ended up in the workshop with two mugs of black coffee and no reason to be there. 

_Oh._

He thought the attraction he had to Tony was only the physical kind, his longing for everything the man was caught him off guard as he sat on the couch, staring at nothing in particular. 

It's not that he was afraid of loving, of trusting someone as incredible and kind as Tony was, he just couldn't trust himself. Not when he had no idea who "himself" was, exactly. He did manage to recall quite a bit of memories since the head massage incident, and he was ecstatic with that as much as Steve and Tony were, but it did nothing to help him remember the person he used to be. 

"Buck? You okay there?" Steve said as he plopped down next to him, concern spilling from his eyes. 

"I'm, okay, I guess," he responed after a few seconds, closing the book he forgot he had on his lap until now. 

"Missing Tony?" Steve said with a knowing smile, playfully shoving Bucky's shoulder. Bucky mirrored it, feeling heat surge into his cheeks. 

"Yeah. Lots."

"Figured you would, you two have been inseparable this entire month. Anything going on there?" 

"No, not that I don't want it to. It's just, I'm scared, Stevie. I don't even know who I am, I don't want to hurt him because I don't trust myself yet."

Steve stared at him, a thoughtful expression ghosting over his features before he sighed, as if giving up in some internal battle. 

"Look. The doc said I shouldn't tell you anything about your past because you have to remember by yourself, but I can tell you this - you weren't that different then to what you are now, and once you remember all of it on your own, I promise you won't want to change anything that might happen between the two of you by then. For now, just be the mysterious ex-assassin that thinks he's special because he has a crush on Tony Stark, the most desirable bachelor on Earth, maybe even elsewhere."

Bucky smiled at that, not before punching Steve back. He surely didn't mind the idea of having Tony all for himself to care for and protect, but also be taken care of and loved for who he is, even though he wasn't sure of what that meant yet. 

 

A week later, he was greeted by a worn out man in question at his bedroom door, his hooded eyes revealing a glint of happiness to them once Bucky beamed at him. He pulled Tony into a hug, feeling his tense muscles giving in to the feeling of familiar arms around him, finally. 

"I missed you a lot," he whispered into his hair, relishing in the feeling of Tony's soft breaths hitting his neck. 

"Sappy much?" he chuckled, making his way towards Bucky's bed, suitcase still in hand. The soldier laughed at that, prying the bag from his hand before joining him under the covers. 

"Not my fault you left me here."

"I didn't have a choice, you know, Pepper would seriously have killed me. I bet she'd hire you to carry out the murder, the evil woman she is."

"Nah. Love you too much to hurt ya," Bucky said before he could stop himself, before realising that Tony wasn't nearly as out of it as he hoped. 

"Love, as in?" 

"Whatever you want me to be. Friend, servant, lover. I'll take anything you give me."

"Can I be selfish and pick all of it?" 

"I was kinda hoping you would."

Tony smiled at him, and Bucky couldn't help but to kiss him, finally feeling thos soft lips against his own, biting lightly at his lower lip before breaking the kiss. 

"You know, I wanted to ask you something. Why'd you never complain? About the food, temperature, all that. I don't get it."

Hurt flashed in Tony's eyes, before being replaced with something distant, unreadable, and painfully sad. 

"It's dad. He always yelled at me for complaining, said I had everything, and no right to complain. He's right, you know. It's nothing important anyways."

"It is, to me. You're important to me, Tony, and every single thing about you matters. You don't get to pretend that a deadly allergy isn't a reason enough to complain. Or your deadly lack of sleep, you know. You're allowed to not suffer, even if it's little things." He kissed Tony's protests away, until he stopped trying to argue Bucky on this, a smile back on his face. 

"Thanks. For looking out for me, even if it's just small things."

"Always, Antoshka. Now sleep, cause we're going out tomorrow."

"Where are you taking me?" 

"Wherever they sell good carbonara, cause it's Thai Tuesday tomorrow."

"L’uomo dei miei sogni," Tony whispered, already half-asleep. 

Yeah. He could get used to this.

**Author's Note:**

> huh. there you have it! im @ironmanstan on tumblr if you want to leave prompts there.
> 
> comments & kudos appreciated! 
> 
> \- mer <3


End file.
